About Me

November 13, 1991

Waiting for the Mail Truck

Yo Bob:

It's 4:49 in the afternoon and the mail truck is a couple hours later than usual. Thought I'd pry your envelope open and scribble a few more lines.

I was just sitting on my back porch playing "draughts" -- a slightly more complex checkers game -- when a helicopter came over. I guess it set down up at the hospital. Don't know if they were bringing somebody in or med-evacing someone out. Probably the former. In any case, it's probably somebody rich or important. This really is a good hospital. Anyway, you should try to imagine how these people reacted to a helicopter flying over this place. Everyone was out to see it go over, and I could hear excited chattering all around me. The four guys with me on my porch took off for the hospital. Abu wanted to take "my" bike (actually assigned to a newer PCV near me), but I couldn't justify letting him take it to chase a helicopter.

I hope my bike comes today on the truck. Heck, I just hope the damn truck comes. I get really psyched up about getting mail twice a month. If it doesn't come today, it will be a big letdown.

Oh -- I remembered one of those things I'd like to get. I've been trying to write a little bit of short fiction (yeah, "Why doesn't he write the essay instead?) but I don't know much about it. If you can come across a text or other book on writing short stories, I'd probably get some good out of it.

School was frustrating again today. I really don't see how my Form III math students could have passed the exam to enter Form I. Maybe they didn't. It's really possible they didn't.